Excursions from Bulgaria to neighboring countries: travel wisely and economically
I don’t know about you, but I try to travel as many countries as possible. If I had a millionaire husband, I would devote my life to traveling. But I was not lucky to get married, although every new year I continue to make one cherished wish: to meet a millionaire, to tie ribbons about it high in the mountains of the Caucasus, to put your hands to the hidden places inside the terrible caves and kiss the icons with ancient relics, rings and beads.
Then, of course, there would be no problems to go to Kamchatka, Japan or Macedonia from America. In the meantime, tickets are not cheaper, you have to travel wisely and economically.
From Bulgaria, you can travel to neighboring countries at an affordable price tag, and even without visas! Where? I'll tell you everything!
Turkey; Greece; Romania; Cyprus; Croatia; Macedonia; Montenegro. Most countries do not belong to the Schengen area, but allow entry into their territory.
Bulgaria is located in southeastern Europe, borders with Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece, Turkey and is washed by the Black Sea. The country is located on the western coast of the Black Sea, in the north it borders with Romania, in the south - with Greece and Turkey, in the west - with Serbia. Bulgaria is an attractive opportunity to visit several nearby countries.
Turkey
The main tourist destination is of course Turkey. To travel to Turkey, Russian citizens do not need a visa, a stamp on arrival and departure is put at the airport, PCR test and vaccination at the border are not asked.
Many tourists from the resorts of Bulgaria go to Istanbul. The bus ride takes 4-6 hours, depending on the mode of transport and the vehicle itself. Tickets are sold in numerous travel agencies of Sunny Beach. A one-way ticket costs 55 leva or about 25 €.
If you use the services of organized one-day excursions, the price will be higher: about 70 euros. The price includes breakfast, lunch, sightseeing tour, free time. The road will take 2 hours less than when traveling by long-distance shuttle bus - travel companies usually carry out transportation by minibus, without stopping in the course of the journey to all coastal cities and bus stations.
The Bulgaria-Turkey border passes easily in an average of 10 minutes. There must be a multi-visa to return to Bulgaria. No one is testing PCR or vaccination.
The bus drops off at the largest station in Europe: Otogar, where the metro station of the same name is located. Using the metro will not work without the “Istanbul Card”, they are sold in kiosks at stations, but not always available. If, bypassing the metro to get out of the station, you can get to a large shopping center "Forum", the symbol of which - "flower" is visible from the station and from almost anywhere in the vicinity, there is a grocery store Carrefour SA.
If you move away from the station for a few blocks, you can feel the charm of walking through the streets of Istanbul, which are famous for their difference in heights and resemble a roller coaster, shocking the uninitiated traveler with steep ascents and descents. This is a complete immersion in the life of a real non-tourist Istanbul, shops of local merchants, colorful houses.
However, the main attraction that can and should be visited during a day trip to Istanbul from Bulgaria is the Golden Bazaar, aka the Grand Bazaar or the Charshi Canals. If you arrive in the morning in Istanbul and leave on the evening bus back to Bulgaria, time to visit this attraction will be enough.
Beyazit metro station is also located near the market. A few blocks on foot there are points of issue of the “Golden crown” and the collapse of street vendors. The bazaar itself is a symbiosis of more than 4000 stores. Of particular interest are the “golden rows”: many jewelry stores. The Grand Bazaar sells clothes and other useful things. The cost of a dress on average about 150 Turkish liras, in rubles the cost can vary from 300 to 1500 rubles, the cost of a hat is about 100 Turkish liras, inexpensive pieces of bags and swimsuits.
Romania
Tourist firms of the Bulgarian coast offer a two-day excursion to Romania, with a visit to Bucharest and the "Dracula Castle" in Bran. The journey from Bulgaria to Romania is long and takes about 10 hours. Therefore, there are no day trips to this “Land of Gypsies” and “Land of Vampires”. And the prices for organized tourism are not cheap: about 130 euros. The price includes breakfast, dinner and a sightseeing tour.
From Varna to Constanta only 150 kilometers, so you can plan a trip to Romania, starting from this pleasant geographical point of view. In this case, the trip will take several hours.
You can visit Romania with a Bulgarian national visa or any Schengen visa. To return to Bulgaria, the Schengen visa must be multiple.
Romania is famous for its eclectic modern architecture and sculptures of Bucharest, medieval castles and villages, ski resorts. Notable is the mountain road in the Carpathian Mountains, built by order of Ceausescu. Transfagaras is the most beautiful road in Europe, connecting the Romanian regions of Wallachia and Transylvania.
Interesting from the point of view of beach tourism coastal cities. Among them, I want to highlight the city with the poetic name Constanta. Constanta is very similar to Istanbul. It is one of the major cities of the whole country and the Dobruja region. The third largest city of Romania, the main seaport of the country and one of the main in Europe, an ancient city on the Black Sea. The first king of Romania, Carol I, revived the city as a port and resort. Many buildings were built in the 19th century. The city was founded by Greeks who needed a port on the Black Sea 2,600 years ago. Constanza was originally called Toma. In honor of the niece of Constantine the Great, the city was later renamed.
Near Constanta there is its own Dead Sea: Lake Tekyrgiol (Lacul Techirghiol). This salty pond has an impressive size and is famous for therapeutic black mud with the smell of hydrogen sulfide. Mud is useful for beauty, tighten the skin and have a spa effect, treat joints and rheumatism.
Greece
A Schengen visa is required to cross the border with Greece, unlike other countries surrounding Bulgaria, admitting on a national Bulgarian visa or without a document.
Bulgarian travel agencies offer three-day tours to Greece for 360 leva, about 18000 rubles. By the way, from Moscow or Mineralnye Vody at the end or beginning of the season you can buy a tour for 5-7 days to Greece, including a charter.
From Burgas, for example, to the border with Greece about 350 kilometers. If you go by car, then the path should be kept to the Bulgarian Smolyan, from which the border is 15-20 kilometers. The nearest Greek city is Alexandropoulis. However, the road to Smolyan is mountainous and sometimes problematic in winter. Alternatively, we can consider “Captain Petko Voivoda” as a border crossing point. In this case, the landmark in Bulgaria: Svilengrad.
If you are in Greece for the first time, you can go to the island of Halkidiki. The scattering of resort towns and sea walks - that can be interesting in Halkidiki. From here it is good to get to Thessaloniki and if you want to be in Athens. Of the islands, famous for luxurious beaches, you can choose in favor of Crete, Corfu and Rhodes.
Macedonia
I have always dreamed of visiting Macedonia. Macedonia gives me a mixture of horror and awe. At night I dream of Macedonian troops conquering Europe. You can say that I come from Macedonia, as this is the former Greece, which was on the territory of modern Adygea (I go to it every day from Krasnodar). It's a shame that the issue of repatriation is not considered by Macedonia, otherwise I would apply for citizenship! :
Let me return to a history without which it is impossible to describe the attractiveness of the country.
336-323 BC - reign of Alexander the Great, son of Philip, a disciple of Aristotle, under which there was a flourishing of a great power, now in a state of affairs not so brilliant. On the fragments of the empire of Alexander the Great, other states grew up, absorbing Greek and Eastern culture. It was a whole era of Hellenism from the 4th-1th century BC, the era of the campaigns of Alexander the Great.
After the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, Greece entered a period of deep crisis that manifested itself both in economics and politics. Greek society was torn apart by conflicts and contradictions, mercenaries and fruitless wars.
Macedonia, meanwhile, was gaining strength. 335 BC Alexander the Great finally captured Thebes and subjugated Greece. In 334-327 BC Alexander the Great made an eastern campaign, during which Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and Persia were subordinated. He then assumed the title of king of Asia.
In just 11 years (334-323 BC) he changed the world. Mixed marriages were allowed and the synthesis of cultures was encouraged.
In 326-325 BC. e. Alexander made an unsuccessful Indian campaign, and three years later he died. In 321 BC, the associates of Alexander the Great signed a peace, according to which more than a dozen cities appeared on the site of the former empire.
From his conquests, only fragments remained, here are just a few of the major ones: modern Egypt and ancient Persia. The common language of the Mediterranean was Greek. The eastern Mediterranean was part of the Roman Empire.
Still on the map there are founded cities, for example, Alexandria (Egypt). During his ten-year campaign, he founded cities. Coincidentally, this time can be called a cultural and scientific flourishing: libraries and universities were built, Christianity arose from the synthesis of cultures.
The country that Macedonian created would be called Asia, but it is not on the world map. Only the territory of modern Macedonia, named after this great conqueror, remains of it.
In different centuries, the territory of Macedonia was under the rule of Turkey and Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece, was part of Yugoslavia as a union republic. In 1991, it separated from Yugoslavia and became a deservedly independent state. There is still controversy about its name, which in my opinion is absurd. And they are aimed at erasing this small country from the face of the earth with all kinds of prefixes.
The Greeks believe that this name is the monopoly of the eponymous region in their country, where Alexander the Great was born. Greece continues to demand that the name of the whole country be changed to... less loud. Depreciating the conquests of Alexander the Great before the Greek region. And no one attracts this seemingly civilized European country for such an inappropriate interpretation of world history! Let me remind you that the conquests of Alexander the Great began with Greece, perhaps why Greece is so aggressive with regard to the geographical name of Macedonia.
Many tourists come to the homeland of Alexander the Great to see where he began his campaign to conquer the world. Today Macedonia is a recognized independent state, the heart of the Balkans. A country with a good climate, beautiful landscapes. Macedonia is not popular with Russians, but from year to year, the flow of tourists there only increases. The main tourist destination is ski tourism. Lake Orchid is also attractive, on the shore of which the ancient city is located.
You can get to Macedonia from Sunny Beach through Sofia, from where there are regular trains. Sofia can also be reached by bus or train from Burgas. The price is not high, the whole road will cost no more than $ 100.
Organized excursions to Macedonia from the resorts of Bulgaria are usually combined with a visit to Sofia, because the Bulgarian capital is on the bus route along this route. A visa to Macedonia for Russians is not required provided that the trip does not exceed 90 days.
Text and photo: Madeleine Barr
Dear friends!
You can order excursions in Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Macedonia from the guides on our website.
Allow yourself to travel in a well-known and popular format - an individual tour with a separate guide.